BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 17. The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) and representatives of the Azerbaijan Fintech Association (Azfina) discussed the formation of an innovative payment ecosystem this week, Trend reports.
During the meeting, a presentation was made on global economic trends, in particular inflation, domestic macroeconomic situation, and the state of the monetary sphere, as well as the balance of payments and the situation on the currency market. The meeting participants also exchanged views on the results of the past year, the activities of organizations represented in the fintech ecosystem, the formation of an ecosystem of innovative payments, and the expansion of non-cash payments.
In addition, this week international rating agency Fitch Ratings affirmed Azerbaijan's long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at "BB+" with a "Positive" outlook.
The rating is underpinned by a very strong external balance sheet, the lowest public debt among peers, and the flexibility of financing through large sovereign wealth fund assets.
The positive outlook reflects the continued strengthening of external and fiscal buffers due to higher-than-budgeted energy prices and the prospect of tighter spending restraint in the energy sector.
Additionally, Fitch forecasts economic growth of 2.8 percent in 2024 and 2.5 percent in 2025.
Moreover, Fitch Ratings forecasts that inflation in Azerbaijan will decline this year from 9 percent in 2023 to 4.5 percent in 2024.
This week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that Azerbaijan's nominal GDP in 2024 will amount to 135.534 billion manat ($79.7 billion).
According to IMF forecasts, GDP in 2025 will be 140.7 billion manat ($82.7 billion), 146.4 billion manat ($86.1 billion) in 2026, 152.5 billion manat ($89.7 billion) in 2027, and 159.4 billion manat ($93.7 billion) in 2028.
The IMF also expects that the growth of the monetary base in manat in 2024 will be 9 percent.
To note, the growth will be maintained at nine percent annually from 2024 to 2028.
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